Gifts for the Seeker - Ithaf i's sa'il : Revised addition. This important book answers many of the questions often asked by Seekers of inward illumination.

---What are the real implications of the doctrine of divine unity?

---How can proper concentration be achieved during spiritual exercises?

---When should one avoid participating in Sufi gatherings?

---What is the relationship between the tongue, the mind, and the heart?

---How is one to understand visions received in sleep?

The work also includes the author’s commentary on a poem on inner wayfaring which speaks of the most exalted stations of the path and goes on to explain a number of paradoxes of the Way, such as the reason as why the saints (Awliya-Allah) usually refuse to deploy their miraculous powers, preferring to concentrate on self-scrutiny and the compassionate guidance of others. These points are illustrated with references to the famous mystical poems of Ibn al-Farid and Abu Madyan.

Table of Contents :

---Translators Introduction,---Gifts for the Seeker - Being Some Answered Questions,------Prologue.

The [1st] Response: On the meanings of La ilaha illa' Llah,

------(a). Introduction to the Science of Unification,------(b). The exoteric meaning of La ilaha illa' Llah,------(c). Polytheism (shirk),------(d). On Unification (tawhid),------(e). La ilaha illa' Llah as a formula of dhikr.

The [2nd] Response: On presence with God,

The [3rd] Response: Some further explications,------(a). Tasbih and Hamd,------(b). Ascribing power and ability,------(c). Remorse, and seeking forgiveness,------(d). A distinction between subtle gradations of sins.

The [4th] Response: On whom we perceive ourselves as receiving from,

The [5th] Response:------(a). Reciting Sura al-Waqi'a,------(b). A word of caution,

The [6th] Response: On Audition,

The [7th] Response: On some of Imam al-Ghazali's precepts,------(a). Knowing a thing is distinct from knowing that one knows it,------(b). Knowledge brings to fruition spiritual states, and states bring to fruition spiritual stations,------(c). It is insufficient, in performing an act of obedience to God, to know that it is one,------(d). On involuntary thoughts (khawatir),------(e). On the relationship between the tongue, the mind, and the heart,------(f ). On the difference between jealousy for God, and envy.

The [8th] Response: On dream-visions.

Afterword : The Ode of Abu Bakr al-'Aydarus,Includes commentary.

---Notes,---Index.

''Those who strive, do so for themselves ; for God is solely Independant of the Worlds.'' [29:6].